Trump praises Nigeria for banning Twitter

(Image credit: Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

published 8 June 2021

Last week, Nigeria indefinitely banned Twitter, which many observers considered a concerning move, since the social media platform is seen as a vital tool for the country's civil society. But former President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a statement praising the decision.

"Congratulations to ... Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their president," Trump said. Twitter did not, in fact, ban Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The company instead deleted a tweet which threatened separatists in southeastern Nigeria and suspended Buhari's account for 12 hours.

That was enough for Trump, though, who used the incident to call for more countries to follow Nigeria's lead and restrict access to Twitter and Facebook, both of which he currently has no access to, "for not allowing free and open speech." He pondered whether "I should have done it while I was president," but suggested he never did because Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg frequently complimented him while he was in office and then finished the statement with a maybe-not-so cryptic "2024?" Read the full statement below.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox